Return
by edible moose
Summary: SLASH Warning! Another CraneBriar. Briar returns to Winding Circle.
1. Chapter One

This story is dedicated to Eihwaz, since she gave me really sweet reviews and made my day, so I thought I would write a fic for her. This was only going to be one chapter, but I'm going to have to make it longer. I've never done more than 1 chapter, so hopefully I'll be able to continue :D  
  
~~~  
  
Crane sighed in frustration, throwing his trowel to the ground. He was distracted. Very distracted. So distracted, in fact, that he couldn't even concentrate on his tomatoes.  
  
Yes, today was the day. So what? He was simply annoyed that Rosethorn would be back, and further hinder his work. Things had been so beautifully peaceful here without her.  
  
Without the boy.  
  
Crane closed his eyes, dropping into the nearest seat. This was not happening. Absolutely not. For four years* he had been trying not to think about the boy.  
  
Briar Moss.  
  
As much as he lied to himself about it, he knew he wasn't distracted because Rosethorn would create competition.  
  
The thing was, Briar didn't remind him of his father, or his old friend, as these things usually go. He didn't remind him of anyone. Briar was completely unlike anyone he had ever met in all his years. The boy was rude, uneducated, impudent and a thief. Despite these factors, he was also extremely smart, witty and charming. He unwittingly drew Crane in, every aspect of the boy fascinated him. He was so young, yet his view of the world was so jaded.  
  
He wondered how much he's changed. Would he be much taller? Would he have the same voracious appetite? Would his eyes be as bright as he remembered them?  
  
He can't believe he's thinking about it. Here he was, thinking he gotten over this silliness. Crane shook his head, opening his eyes. Just as he was reaching for his trowel, he spotted Dedicate Lark out of the corner of his eye. She was half-running down the path, skirts held up. She was heading towards the gate.  
  
Rosethorn. Briar.  
  
He turned back to his tomatoes, hands shaking slightly as he began work again.  
  
Thirty seconds passed before he dropped his trowel, turned on his heel, and calmly walked down the path towards the Northern gate.  
  
~~~  
  
He stood a fair distance from the scene, standing warily back. Lark could no longer restrain herself, and began sprinting towards her old friend, tears spilling down her cheeks. Rosethorn slipped off the horse, just before she was caught in a ferocious hug. After a moment, Briar was pulled ungracefully into the hug, and received a kiss on the cheek from Lark. He smiled, shaking his head, before hugging the motherly woman back.  
  
He was taller, as Crane had predicted. His hair was a little different, it was now about two inches long, sticking up in messy spikes in every direction. His eyes were still as bright as he remembered, perhaps even brighter. His smile was the same. Crane's heart clenched.  
  
He stood back, unnoticed. A stranger. After a few more uncomfortable minutes of hugging, laughing and crying, the moment he was both waiting for and dreading came. Briar looked up, locking eyes with Crane. Crane's breath caught in his throat, he didn't dare blink. After what seemed like an eternity, Briar looked away, following Rosethorn and Lark down the opposite path.  
  
No smile. No wave. Nothing.  
  
Crane smiled bitterly. What was he expecting? Briar would grin, and beckon him over? He would hug him as tightly as Lark had Rosethorn? He would invite him back to Discipline? No. He didn't belong, and he was ten kinds of fool to even come here. He turned away, retreating up the path towards his Greenhouse.  
~~~  
  
To be continued!  
  
*I'm not sure how old they where when they left the Winding Circle, so I'm just saying it was four years ago. 


	2. Chapter Two

Kitty Ryan: Thank you! . I'm really terrible with tenses, I should probably find myself a beta. I've tried to be more conscious about it in this chapter, hopefully it runs smoothly. Alone In the Desert: Thanks! Yep, I'm definitely going to try to go further with that. I'm also hoping to branch out, but I think I'll finish the story first if I can. I love you!!: hehe thanks. I've been waiting for ages to, and I finally gave up and wrote some of my own. No, I don't know of any other stories ( but you said you'd found about 3 or 4, could you tell me where those are? Thanks! Eihwas: :D She's back! Your comments always make me smile... thank you! Tinabina: Yeah I know, it's the only one I can find . but I like it! A Random Person You Don't Know: Um... okay. I'm not sure how this is "exactly like the book" and I "didn't add anything new". It's set in a time after the books. It's from the point of view of a character that isn't really developed much and whose point of view is never shown in the books. But, whatever you want to think.  
  
I'm sorry I haven't updated this story for ages! Thank you to everyone who reviewed hugs.  
  
Chapter 2 –  
  
Briar shivered and pulled his blanket closer. He had been exhausted earlier that evening – hours on horseback left anyone tired and sore. But right now he was wide awake.  
  
He had been excited at the prospect of returning to Winding Circle. Sure, he wasn't expecting to see the girls for a couple more weeks, but he couldn't wait for the look on Lark's face, and the see how much Discipline had changed. One thing he hadn't expected was Crane.  
  
When he had first seen the dedicate standing at a distance, he had frozen in his spot. Crane was the last person he'd expected to be there. He wondered whether he was actually here to welcome them home, and if he was then why didn't he just come over here and do it, instead of standing around staring. It was then Briar realised he himself was staring, and quickly looked away.  
  
And now he was safely tucked in his bed, and all he could think about was how Crane's black hair was parted slightly to the left now, and how his dark brown eyes looked the same yet different, because what was that look in his eyes? He had never seen it in Crane's eyes before, expect for a few brief moment when he thought no one was looking, but Briar could never pinpoint it. It looked almost like... loneliness.  
  
It was a funny thing, but Briar had never experienced loneliness until he'd come to Winding Circle. He'd never really had anyone before, but it didn't really matter on the streets because you didn't have time to think about it. But when he came to Winding Circle he was suddenly surrounded with people who had families, friends, money, houses, everything Briar had never really had. And he couldn't help but notice the look in people's eyes when the looked at him or spoke to him, because it was just so cold. He was worthless, the dirt under their feet. Street rat.  
  
Looking back on his life, he realised he had never heard the phrase "I love you".  
  
And he was lonely. Not that he said anything, or ever would for that matter. Because then the girls, Lark and Rosethorn came into his life. They were as close to a family as Briar had ever had, and although they never actually said they loved him, he knew. They didn't need to say. Briar would be unsure as to how to react if they did.  
  
But how could Crane, the book-smart bag, feel lonely? He's surround by his own people isn't he? Then again, he knew the dedicate wasn't particularly liked by the general population.  
  
He wondered if Crane didn't want to make friends, or if he just didn't know how.  
  
I'm don't really like this chapter as much as the last, I think it has less depth when it's from the PoV of Briar. Then again, that's a little fitting, since I see Briar as a more self-centred person. All his life he's only had to think about taking care of himself after all. Next chapter back to Crane PoV!  
  
Review! Constructive Criticism! Flame! 


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